Constitutional Court of Moldova temporarily suspends some powers of President Dodon
On January 2, the Constitutional Court of Moldova decided to temporarily suspend the authority of the country’s President Igor Dodon regarding the approval of new members of the government, reported the editorial office of Radio Liberty in Moldova.
The pro-Russian head of state twice rejected government proposals concerning the appointment of seven members of the executive branch. By the court’s decision, the President of the Parliament of Moldova, Andrian Candu, or the Prime Minister Pavel Filip, will now be able to sign appointment orders.
President Dodon responded to the court’s decision on Facebook, saying that “the Constitutional Court has become a hostage of its own rash decisions.” He called the court’s decision “contradictory” and “on the edge of legality and common sense.” According to Dodon, “the positive side of the situation lies in the fact that the authorities have once again compromised themselves in the eyes of the citizens,” and “this will seriously jeopardize its position this year, when the next elections will be held in the country.”
A similar situation occurred in Moldova in October 2017, when the Constitutional Court of the country ruled that President Dodon cannot block the replacement of ministers in the Moldovan government. Before this, Dodon refused to accept Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s proposal to appoint Defense Minister Eugen Sturza, citing the candidate’s lack of experience.
The Moldovan government is pro-European and pro-Western, but the country’s president, Igor Dodon, elected at the end of 2016, is the pro-Russian leader and often opposes the position of the government and parliament.